


Behind The Curtain

by Zoe_Nightshade_Rules



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Book 3: The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson), Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Missing Scene, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:55:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28886454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zoe_Nightshade_Rules/pseuds/Zoe_Nightshade_Rules
Summary: Zoë doesn't want to go to Camp Half-Blood, she doesn't want Artemis to hunt such a monster by herself and she definitely does not want to go on a quest with the boy who carries Anaklusmos and has an obsession with heroes. But things don't always go her way.OrThe Titan's Curse from Zoë's perspective with a few additional scenes and a lot of Zartemis Content.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Artemis/Zoë Nightshade (Percy Jackson)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	Behind The Curtain

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger Warning For Panic Attacks

Zoë had to resist dragging her feet as she led Perseus through her camp, an uneasy feeling had taken up residence in the pits of her stomach the second she’d seen the monster, it only worsened when Thorn decided to go cliff jumping with the child of Athena. She really didn’t want to leave her goddess’ side any time soon, the gut feeling was often correlated with her goddess, although the situations the childish Olympian got herself in always varied between good and bad. Not to mention leaving said goddess with an unknown entity, she had no idea who Bianca nor Nico’s godly parent was but, if she had to guess, she’d say they were dangerous. After all, Thorn had been watching the two for months.

She flipped the thick tent flap open, stepping into the warm room and waving the boy behind her in without so much as a glance. The lieutenant ignored the confused look from Bianca and the disapproving one from Artemis. Just because her goddess was supposed to be hospitable to people she invited to stay the night, did not necessarily mean that she had to (it did).

“Join us, Percy Jackson,” Artemis said, petting the silver deer in her lap like those cartoon villains Cora had told her about. Zoë couldn’t help the small smirk that graced her lips when she saw how nervous the unfortunate demigod looked. All tense and looking ready to flee as Artemis stared at him with her glowing silverish-yellow eyes, the color of the moon.

“Are you surprised by my age?” Her goddess continued idly, fingers deftly sweeping through coarse fur and scratching behind the deer's ears. Zoë couldn’t help the tingle of envy that the site ignited, wishing she was the one getting her goddess’ affection.

“ _Jealous are we?_ ” The goddess’ voice echoed, her voice filled with silent mirth.

Zoë scowled, ignoring the onslaught of memories of when Zoë had gotten the treatment, opting to stay silent. She pretended the goddess' amused smile wasn’t being seared into her mind, although whether Artemis or herself was projecting it; she didn’t quite know.

“Uh...a little.” The boy admitted. Zoë’s frown deepened, did the boy not know how to use proper honorifics?

“I could appear as a grown woman, or a blazing fire, or anything else I want,” Artemis boasted, her eyes flashing with godly power, “but this is what I prefer. This is the average age of my Hunters, and all young maidens for whom I am patron, before they go astray.”

“Go astray?” The demigod asked, Zoë’s brows furrowed now. Again, any Olympian should be addressed respectfully.

“Grow up. Become smitten with boys, Become silly, preoccupied, insecure. Forget themselves,” The goddess laughed, waving her hand like the mere idea of it was not worth her time. 

“ _Join me, my dear, you look dreadfully out of place simply standing there._ ” The twelve-year-olds voice bounced along the inside of Zoë’s skull, though it gave the impression that the goddess had just spoken out loud, much to Zoë’s dismay. The Hesperide was never one to disobey her goddess. 

“Oh.” The boy seemed surprised, unsure of what to do with the new information. Zoë simply glared, folding her legs underneath her while she sat down to the goddess’ right. 

“You must forgive my Hunters if they do not welcome you,” Artemis must’ve picked up on her hostility towards the aspiring ‘hero’, “It is very rare that we would have boys in this camp. Boys are usually forbidden to have any contact with the Hunters. The last one to see this camp…” Her goddess turned to face her, “Which one was it?”

“That boy in Colorado,” Zoë supplied easily, it was only a month or two ago after all, “You turned him into a jackalope.”

“Ah, yes.” Artemis nodded, satisfied. “I enjoy making jackalopes.”

There was a nearly undetected pause in her ladies’ tone, but Zoë knew that the goddess was looking back on fond memories of turning boys into jackalopes. Reducing the male population, one jackalope at a time. She’d have to tease Artemis about it later. 

“At any rate, Percy, I’ve asked you here so that you might tell me more of the manticore. Bianca has reported some of the . . . mmm, disturbing things the monster said. But she may not have understood them. I’d like to hear them from you.”

The boy recounted the story, only adding a few, unimportant details. Zoë was tempted to yawn, simply to annoy the obviously ansty boy. Sadly, Artemis seemed intrigued by the retelling of the tale, so Zoë simply drowned out the sound of the boy talking. Meaning she had a staring (glaring) match with the deer. 

Only when the child of Poseidon’s annoying chatter ceased did Zoë break the unblinking deer's gaze. Tracking her goddess’ fingers as they trailed over her silver bow, lazily running them over the small grooves and dents it’d gained over the years. The lieutenant felt her stomach swoop uncomfortably while Artemis talked, “I feared this was the answer.”

Zoë shifted in her seat. The hunters hadn’t come here for Dr. Thorn or the powerful demigods. They’d come here tracking something much more dangerous, something that the elder hunters hardly remembered if at all. Dr. Thorn was simply a detour, the demigods; a mild roadblock. The nymph leaned forward slightly, “The scent, my lady?”

“Yes.”

“What scent?” Perseus asked, glancing between Zoë and the Olympian with a lost expression.

“Things are stirring that I have not hunted in millennia,” Artemis got a far off look, her voice quiet as she spoke, “Prey so old I have nearly forgotten.”

The moon goddess stared at the boy, “We came here tonight sensing the manticore, but he was not the one I seek. Tell me again, exactly what Dr. Thorn said.”

The demigod looked confused, “Um, ‘I hate middle school dances.’”

Zoë turned her head to the side, gods, had the males gotten more idiotic as the times progressed. Sure she hadn’t talked civilly with a boy for a few centuries now, but she was certain that they weren’t all this dumb. 

“No, no.” Artemis shook her head, “After that.”

“He said somebody called the General was going to explain things to me.” Zoë felt all the color drain from her skin. That bad feeling she had had earlier? It was back with vengeance and brought along the barely restrained urge to vomit with it. Her father. Zoë looked back to Artemis, mouth open to say something, anything, tell the goddess to not do whatever she was planning. She was met with a raised hand. The lieutenant snapped her mouth shut and brought her attention back to Perseus despite her brain screaming at her. 

“Go on, Percy.”

The demigod looked uneasily at Zoë, who glowered right back at him, “Well, then Thorn was talking about the Great Stir Pot-”

“Stirring,” Bianca corrected, Zoë had forgotten the timid girl was there.

“Yeah. And he said, ‘Soon we shall have the most important monster of all -- the one that shall bring the downfall of Olympus,’” Percy said in a deep voice, trying to imitate the manticore.

Zoë felt her goddess stiffen up beside her, something that only happened when she got scared - well, as scared as an immortal being could get anyway. Artemis would’ve been hard like stone if Zoë or anybody else had touched her, freezing like a statue. Zoë felt some of her companions' fear leak through the empathy link, it felt like getting drenched in ice water. 

Perseus must’ve gotten nervous, his voice fast and rushed, “Maybe he was lying.”

Artemis thawed, shaking her head jerkily, “No. He was not. I’ve been too slow to see the signs. I must hunt this monster.”

Zoë felt like she was sitting in a bath of ice water now. Please don’t tell her Artemis is planning on going alone. Please don’t tell her Artemis is planning on going alone. Not to mention, she was planning on hunting something that could take down the _Olympians_ , Zoë couldn’t help the wave of fear washing over her like waves would if she were a beach. Over and over and over. Endlessly. She nodded anyway, if Artemis was going to chase this, this god-killer, she was going with, “We will leave right away, my lady.”

“No, Zoë. I must do this alone,” more waves of ice-cold water.

“But, Artemis--”

“This task is too dangerous even for the Hunters. You know where I must start my search. You cannot go there with me,” Zoë felt like she was drowning,

“As...as you wish, my lady,” Zoë knew her voice was quiet, dejected even. She couldn’t help it, unable to protect, to be at her goddess’ side because her family was. Disappointing,to say the least. The lieutenant also knew that using the goddess’ actual name, in front of the boy and a possible recruit, was not the best idea.

“I will find this creature,” Artemis vowed, “And I shall bring it back to Olympus by the winter solstice. It will be all the proof I need to convince the Council of the Gods of how much danger we are in.”

“You know what the monster is?” Perseus asked.

She was drowning, being pulled away with the tide, being tossed around by the waves until she had no way to tell which way was up or down. 

Artemis’s hands were back on the bow, but instead of gentle touches, she was gripping it hard enough the material groaned, “Let us pray I am wrong.”

“Can goddesses pray?” Perseus asked.

Zoë was drowning, no sense of up and down, left or right, horizontal or vertical. She felt like she was drifting aimlessly through the ocean. Artemis’ side of the empathy link was blank, a wall brought up between them as the goddess left Zoë with no reassurance, no explanation, nothing to help her navigate the deep, cold, dark, ocean.

Zoë saw the flicker of a smile play across the goddess’ lips, but the faint feeling of amusement didn’t follow, “Before I go, Percy Jackson, I have a small task for you.”

“Does it involve getting turned into a jackalope?”

“Sadly, no.” And the Olympian did look sad for a second, disappointed at least, “I want you to escort the Hunters back to Camp Half-Blood. They can stay there in safety until I return.”

Did she say Camp Half-Blood? Zoë blinked. And suddenly an invisible force was pushing her, pushing her through the icy water.

“ _What_?” Zoë blurted out, too shocked to mask her speech in resigned professionalism, “But, Artemis, we hate that place. The last time we stayed there---”

“Yes, I know,” Artemis interrupted, voice full of exasperation, “But I’m sure Dionysus will not hold a grudge just because of a little, ah, misunderstanding. It’s your right to use Cabin Eight whenver you are in need. Besides I hear they rebuilt the cabins that burned down.”

Zoë grumbled. Misunderstanding her ass. Dionysus had made the fatal mistake of making an advance towards one of their own. The resulting mayhem was simply a bit of innocent retribution, maybe it would teach him to keep his hands to himself. Wasn’t he stuck in that hell-hole because he touched a nymph that Zeus had claimed as his? 

“And now there is one last decision to make.” Artemis focused on Bianca, “Have you made up your mind, my girl?”

The dark-haired girl hesitated, “I’m still thinking about it.”

“Wait,” the confused look made an appearance on the son of Poseidon's face, “Thinking about what?”

“They… they’ve invited me to join the Hunt.”

“What? But you can’t! You have to come to Camp Half-Blood so Chiron can train you. It’s the only way you can learn to survive.”

Zoë butt in before the boy could sprout any more false information, “It is _not_ the only way for a girl.”

Perseus looked offended at the very notion, “Bianca, camp is cool! It’s got a pegasus stable and a sword-fighting arena and… I mean, what do you get by joining the Hunters?”

“To begin with,” Zoë offered, “immortality.”

The ‘hero’ stared at the lieutenant like she’d grown a second head, then to Artemis when Zoë remained unmoved, “She’s kidding, right?”

Honestly, what was Chiron teaching these kids? Did they know nothing of Greek Mythology?

“Zoë rarely kids about anything,” Artemis said, “My Hunters follow me on my adventures. They are my maidservants, my companions, my sisters-in-arms. Once they swear loyalty to me, they are indeed immortal...unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely. Or break their oath,”

“What oath.”

“To forswear romantic love forever,” Artemis said, “To never grow up, never get married. To be a maiden eternally.”

“Like you?”

Zoë winced. There was one lie there, at least for the eldest hunters. The older ones were simply sworn to never commit the act of sexual intercourse, romantic love between females was still something allowed in the hunt, although it was kept a secret from most. Zoë’s fairly sure her original oath, the first hunter and eldest to join Artemis, was to simply stay at the goddess’ side. It changed slowly, adjusting until the Artemis had gotten it right.

The auburn-haired girl nodded.

Perseus still looked confused, though Zoë decided not to judge him on it, it wasn’t his fault he had a pea-sized brain, “So you just go around the country recruiting half-bloods--”

“Not just half-bloods,” Zoë interrupted, “Lady Artemis does not discriminate by birth. All who honor the goddess may join. Half-bloods, nymphs, mortals--”

“Which are you then?”

Zoë’s eyes flashed, she should’ve known the boy would ask, “That is not thy concern, boy. The point is Bianca may join if she wishes. It is her choice.”

“Bianca, this is crazy,” the half-blood told her, “What about your brother?” Nico can’t be a Hunter.”

Way to point out the obvious.

“Certainly not,” Artemis agreed, “He will go to camp. Unfortunately, that’s the best boys can do.”

“Hey!” Perseus protested. 

Artemis ignored the boy's interruption, “You can see him from time to time,” She assured her, “But you will be free of responsibility. He will have the camp counselors to take care of him. And you will have a new family. Us.”

“A new family,” Bianca repeated, trance-like, “Free if responsibility.”

“Bianca, you can’t do this,” The boy pleaded, his voice laced with desperation, “It’s nuts.”

Bianca turned to Zoë, worrying her lip and her eyes big and wide, doe-like, “Is it worth it?”

Zoë thought back over the recent years. The fun stupid games she got roped into by the girls. Cuddling up with Artemis at night, pressing kisses to her lips in the privacy of their tent. Teaching Alex how to properly shoot the bow. Snow ball fights in the winter, rosey nosed and wet. Swimming in the summer when it was too hot to keep walking. 

The Hespride smiled, “It is.”

The demigod's face was set with steely determination, “What do I have to do?”

“Say this,” Zoë instructed her, “‘I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis.’”

Zoë kept the frown to herself but was disappointed with Bianca’s choice. What she would do to get even a day more with her youngest sister.

Bianca repeated her, stuttering a bit as uncertainty flashed across her eyes for a second.

“‘I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt.’”

She would give up her immortality to tell her Calypso she loved her, just one last time. To give the young nymph a giant hug. To see her youngest sister.

“That’s it?” Bianca asked after she finished the pledge.

Zoë nodded reassuringly, giving her newest sister a gentle smile, “If Lady Artemis accepts thy pledge, then it is binding.”

“I accept it,” Artemis said, her eyes glowing a bit brighter as she did. The fire in the center of the room brightened and grew, casting a familiar silver glow over the room. The deer in Artemis’ lap seemed to glow slightly too, it’s fur shimmering under the goddess's hands.

“I feel...stronger,” Bianca’s eyes were wide and she was flexing her hands like they weren’t really hers. 

“Welcome,” Zoë still had the tiny grin on her face, “Sister.”

“Remember your pledge,” Artemis reminded with a kind smile, glowing a faint silver, “It is now your life.”

Her goddess turned to the sulking demigod, “Do not despair, Percy Jackson. You will still get to show the di Angelos your camp. And if Nico so chooses, he can stay there.”

“Great,” Perseus grumbled, his eyebrows low over his eyes and a small pout on his lips, “How are we supposed to get there?”

Fourteen-year-olds were so childish. She should know, she babysits a dozen of them.

Artemis hummed under her breath quietly and closed her eyes with a hint of a smile on her face. How Artemis found this entertaining was beyond her.

“Dawn is approaching. Zoë, break camp,” Artemis said, a mischievous lilt in her voice and a glint in her eyes, “You must get to Long Island quickly and safely. I shall summon a ride from my brother.”

Zoë’s lips twitched, drooping down at the edges slightly. She settled for shoving all of her displeasure through the empathy link, imagining a little Zoë shoving all of the reasons why she didn’t want to be near Apollo into Artemis’ head. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to do anything other than amuse the goddess. 

“ _Take our newest sister to the rest of the girls would you, dear one?_ ” Artemis asked through their link.

Zoë huffed but stood, brushing her pants off and gesturing for Bianca to follow her as she left the tent in what could only be displeasure. But not before giving Percy a warning look that he didn’t see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zoë's cranky, tired, and nothing going her way. Yea, that's my excuse for her being a bitch about Percy, I don't know if it's totally accurate but I hope it's close. She was sorta passive-aggressive in the beginning anyway, and Artemis just finds it amusing. Anyway, thanks for reading, and don't worry, this won't take very long to finish, I think I have like 10-15 chapters planned for this? Also! I am fairly certain I'm going to update my other fic in the next 24 hours so watch for that!


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